Celebrated Nashville visual artist Jana Harper joins forces with choreographer Rebecca Steinberg, musician Moksha Sommer, and filmmaker Sam Boyette for a physical exploration of personal empathy and the shared human experience. Originally conceived as a live performance, this dance and visual art event has been reimagined for the camera, taking a timely look at our responsibilities to each other as citizens of a global community. The environmental performance was filmed from a distance at various outdoor locations in Nashville during isolation, examining individual and collective burdens, and what it means to feel connected to something larger than ourselves—especially when apart.

The online premiere at OZ Arts is the culmination of years of research, including numerous workshops with a diverse cross-section of community partners. The collaborative team presents an entirely unique experience that fuses visual art and contemporary dance, underscored by soaring original music.

A NOTE FROM THE COLLABORATORS

What we previously thought of as a universal piece has suddenly become very specific. The work has taken on new meaning post-tornado and with the physical, social, and work restrictions made necessary by Covid-19. The subtitle, “Traces of Contact,” reflects these new restrictions, as well as the adaptations we’ve made to transition from live performance to film, and to compose dances without any physical contact.

All of the scenes have been shot outside, maintaining adequate distance. In any instance where dancers touch one another, we have chosen performers who were already quarantined together. In these days of sheltering in place, each part of each day has taken on new meanings and we are exploring this reality by filming each of the five scenes at a different time of day.

“Contact tracing” is the public health term used to track exposure between an infected person and everyone they have been in contact with. “Traces of contact” refers to both this term and also our memory of the work before the crisis.

Learn more about the creative process behind This Holding by exploring artist insights from the dancers and creative team.

Visual artist Jana Harper delves into the creative process behind This Holding: Traces of Contact in this episode of the Brave New Art podcast from OZ Arts. When a global health emergency made live events impossible, the creative team seized the opportunity to reimagine the performance for the camera. Hear from Jana on the project’s origins, adapting the work during a crisis, and the value of following your curiosity.

LISTEN

An ongoing partnership with The Porch, Art Wire invites 10 writers to experience OZ Arts performances and respond with bold, original writing. 2019-2020 Art Wire fellows and mentors engaged in the online premiere of This Holding: Traces of Contact by crafting their own creative works in real time. The resulting collection of poetry and prose was submitted within the hour following the premiere, and captures the writers’ immediate and visceral reactions to the experience.

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